Rotary debarker having pneumatically operable bark-removing tools



S. HANSEL July 9, 195 7 ROTARY DEBARKER HAVING PNEUMATICALLY OPERABLE BARK-REMOVING TOOLS Filed May 10, 1956 SYDNE Y HA NSEL 111M900 ATTORN EY United States i1 atent ROTARY DEBARKER HAVING PNEUMATICALLY OPERABLE BARK-REMOVING TOOLS Sydney Hansel, Edmonds, Wash.

Application May 10, 1956, Serial No. 584,006

4 Claims. (Cl. 144-208) My invention relates to improvements in rotary barkremoving machines.

The objects of the invention are to provide means for holding the debarking elements in contact with the log by fluid pressure supplied from a sealed pressure system, and to provide for the removal of the debarking elements from log-engaging position by manually controlled fluidpressure means directed in opposition to the pressure from said sealed pressure system Further objects will appear as the specification proceeds.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention.

Figure 2 is a right-hand end elevation of Figure 1 with parts broken away and shown in section in order to show the operating mechanism of a debarking element.

Figure 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

The numeral 1 indicates a base frame supporting a stator 2. The stator 2 consists of an annular member 3 having end flanges S which support annular bearing flanges 6. Rotatably journalled in the bearing flanges 6 is a rotor 7. The rotor 7 is in the form of an annular channel having a web or inner wall 9 and spaced side walls 10. Each side wall has a flange 11 which is lined with a suitable antifrictional bearing member 12, the side walls and flanges constituting axial and thrust bearings 14 for the rotor 7. The inner wall 9 of the rotor 7 extends beyond one side of the stator to support a sprocket 15. A suitable reduction-geared motor 17 is carried by the base frame 1 and is operatively connected to the sprocket by a chain drive 18.

An annular cylinder 19 is fitted within the annular member 3 of the stator and is provided with a piston 20 which is an annular ring provided on its outer end with a ring 21 of antifrictional material. The piston 20 is urged outwardly by fluid pressure delivered to the inletoutlet communicating with the base of the annular cylinder 19 as at 23. The fluid used to operate the cylinder 19 is preferably compressed air and is controlled by a manually operated valve, not shown.

Mounted in bearing brackets 25 carried by the inner wall 9 of the rotor are swinging arms 27 each terminating at its inner end in a scraper or other bark-removing member 28 and at their opposite ends in an eyed lever 29. Mounted upon trunnions 30 journalled in the side walls 10 of the rotor are double-acting oscillating cylinders 31 fitted with piston rods 34. The piston rods 34 are connected to the eyed levers 29 of the swinging arms 27. Adjacent each oscillating cylinder 31 is a pressure tank 36 having a flexible tube 37 connected to the rear end of the adjacent cylinder 31 to provide continuous communication therebetween. All the pressure tanks are charged with air at a predetermined pressure in order to urge the bark-removing members 28 into sufliciently forceful contact with a log to strip the bark from said log. Mounted ice upon a side wall 10 of the rotor and opposing the annular cylinder 19 is a similar annular cylinder 39 having a ring piston 40 which is normally contacted at its outer end by the antifn'ction ring 21 of the annular piston 20. The annular cylinder 39 is provided with an inlet-outlet pipe 42 for each of the oscillating cylinders 31, which pipes obviously communicate continuously with the front end of each of said oscillating cylinders.

A log conveyor 50 of any preferred type will be provided to deliver logs into the annulus of the rotor 7 and to keep them from rotating under the drag of the bark removing elements.

In operation, the conveyor is set in motion to feed a log through the rotor, and the motor 17 is started to turn the rotor in an anticlockwise direction (as viewed in Figure 2). As a log reaches the zone of action of the swinging arms fluid is fed into the annular cylinder 19 under such pressure as is necessary to force the ring piston 20 to the left of Figure 3. The piston 20 being in contact with the ring piston 40 forces it inwardly into its cylinder 39, thus increasing the pressure therein. This pressure is transmitted through the pipes 42 to force the piston rods 34 back into their respective oscillating cylinders 31 and to force the air in the inner end of said cylinders back through the flexible tubes 37 into their pressure tanks 36. The above action causes the piston rods 34 to recede into their pistons and to swing the arms 27 so that their bark-removing members 28 move outwardly towards the inner peripheral wall 9 of the rotor 7, thus allowing the end of the log to enter the zone in which the bark-removing members operate. As soon as the end of a log reaches the above mentioned zone, the pressure in the annular cylinder 19 is relieved by the operator to allow the pressure stored in the pressure tanks 36 to automatically bring the bark-removing members into operating engagement with the log. The pressure exerted on each of the members 28 will drop slightly as the members swing further towards the center of the rotor since outward movement of a piston 34 will increase the volumetric space in which the fluid under pressure is stored.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A bark-removing device comprising a stator, an annular rotor journaled in the stator, said rotor having a side wall and a central opening through whichlogs are adapted to pass, said rotor having a plurality of barkrernoving members each adapted for swinging movement in a planar path normal to the axis of the rotor and towards and away from the center of the opening, a cylinder having a piston rod operatively engaging each barkremoving member, said cylinder being carried by the rotor, a first annular cylinder carried by the stator, said first annular cylinder having an inlet-outlet for fluid under pressure, a second annular cylinder carried by the rotor, piston means common to both annular cylinders, said second annular cylinder being in continuous communication with an outer end of each of the member-operating cylinders, said common piston means serving as it is moved outwardly by pressure within the first annular cylinder to force fluid from the second annular cylinder to the member-operating cylinder to retract said members towards the periphery of the opening, a sealed pressure tank carried by the rotor, and means providing continuous communication between said tank and an inner end of each of the member-operating cylinders.

2. A bark-removing device as claimed in claim 1 in which the member-operating cylinders are mounted on trunnions from a side wall of the rotor and in which their pistons are connected directly to swinging arms, said barkrernoving members being connected to said swinging arms.

3. A bark-removing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the piston rods which are operatively connected to the bark-removingqnembers are urged in one direction byfluid-pressureunder manual-control and wherein-each of the piston rods is moved in the opposite direction by air which was compressed, in'the inner end of the memher-operating i -cylinde'r a'nd in the sealed tank and the 11 means providing 'co'mmnnie'ation with :said inner end "of the membenoperating cylinder, by movement. of said piston ro'd toward said inner end-"of the member-operav ing cylinder.

45A barkremovingrdevice comprising astator, an annular'rotor journaled in thestator; said rotor having a side wall and a central "opening through "which logs are adapted to 'pass, said rotor having a ti lurality 'of barkremoving members each adapted fon swinging movement in a planarpathr normal' to the'axis :of the rotor and: to-' pistons being disposed in end-to-end contact whereby the-first ringpiston-inmovingoutwardly fromitscylinder thrusts the second ring piston into its annular cylinder to increase the fluid pressure therein, said fluid-pressure increase being communicated by pipe means to an outer end of each of the member-operating cylinders to retract their piston rods and retract the bark-removing members towards the periphery of the rotor opening, a sealed tank carried by the rotor, saidtank containingair underpressure, and-means-providing continuous communication between the tank and the inner end of each of the memher-operating cylinders, whereby thepressureof the air in the tankis'increased'by the piston rods as saidtpiston rods are moved to retract the bark-removing members towards the periphery of 'the rotor opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent 2,749,952 League 'June 12, 1956 Whitlock Apr. 8,1952- 

